Rockstar Requires iOS 17 to Support Mobile Titles

Rockstar Games has published a support note that confirms that its mobile titles now require iOS 17 or later. Anyone using iOS 16 or less will no longer receive game updates and the company claims that it will not be able to provide technical assistance for problems on such devices. The games can still be downloaded and played on previous versions of iOS, without being deleted from the device or disable settings. However, future updates and official assistance will end if a problem arises, which has already happened in the past. Each developer eventually stops support for older OS versions, because keeping builds separate for obsolete hardware requires resources that are not sustainable over time. The support article usefully directs users to Apple instructions for upgrading to iOS 17. Do not follow these instructions if your physical device is unable to run iOS 17. The iOS 17 limit was the A12 Bionic chip, which left back iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus and iPhone X. These devices are permanently blocked at iOS 16. You cannot install an update or change a setting. Devices that cannot upgrade to iOS 17, preventing users from following Rockstar tips. Rockstar could theoretically continue to maintain builds for an operating system with five generations of indefinitely age, and the cost of this job would result from the same budget as all other activities it carries out. No one knows of mind would want a studio spend engineering hours to support 2017 hardware. This is a real compromise. However, the Grand Theft Auto mobile games are paid products. People bought Grand Theft Auto III, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas on their phones with real money, and there is no version of this purchase where the buyer was informed how long Rockstar would continue to support these games. This is not a unique situation for Rockstar, but it's how the entire app economy works. You purchased a product, the support window for it was decided later by someone else and communicated in an article of help, which brings us to the topic he dominated this year. This is what actually means the end of digital property. The game continues to work, but it stops being maintained. One day the operating system advances enough to stop working properly and there is no disk in a drawer on which to return because there was never a disk. Mobile games are purist digital products in existence. This is essentially a preview of where everything else is going now that Sony Interactive Entertainment is finishing the production of the disks and Grand Theft Auto VI will be shipped with a code instead of a disk. Of course, a console game on a disk will also stop working at the end, when the console will die and the hardware will become difficult to find. Physical supports do not make the game immortal, but simply move the expiration date under your control instead of someone else's. È una mossa affrettata, devo dire. Il fatto che Rockstar non abbia annunciato nulla in anticipo, limitandosi a una nota di supporto apparentemente dimenticata, è un campanello d’allarme. Mi convince poco l'argomentazione sulla "sostenibilità" e sull'abbandono dell'hardware obsoleto: lo fanno sempre, ed è un comportamento piuttosto irritante per chi ha investito tempo e denaro in giochi che poi vengono lasciati a marcire. Il parallelismo con il caso di Vice City e San Andreas, dove la durata del supporto non era stata comunicata in maniera trasparente, rende tutto ancora più frustrante. Non mi stupirei se questa strategia fosse già stata pianificata da tempo, forse legata a specifici piani di monetizzazione o a nuove direttive per il futuro della divisione mobile. La limitazione al chip A12 Bionic è un colpo secco per tutti quelli che possiedono iPhone 8, 8 Plus e X – modelli che, diciamocelo, sono ancora perfettamente giocabili e con una buona parte della batteria. È come se volessero forzare le mani ai giocatori più anziani, costringendoli ad aggiornare hardware che magari non desiderano o non possono permettersi. E poi, l'affermazione che "non viene cancellato nulla dal dispositivo" è un bluff: quello che avviene in realtà è una graduale perdita di funzionalità e compatibilità a causa della mancanza di aggiornamenti per nuove sfide, contenuti online e, soprattutto, correzioni di bug. Il fatto che Rockstar si rivolga alle istruzioni ufficiali di Apple per l'aggiornamento a iOS 17 sottolinea ulteriormente la loro mancanza di responsabilità nei confronti dei propri utenti, relegandoli a semplici numeri in un bilancio.